# AI Animation

A geological cross section of creative AI.

**Outcome:** Hundreds of experiments since 2022, published on Instagram and TikTok.

- World: Moving image
- Role: Artist and animation collaborator
- Status: Ongoing practice
- Stack: Midjourney, ComfyUI, Runway, Visual storytelling
- With: Karen X. Cheng, The Handpan Man
- Links: Watch on Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/michaelcarychao/> · Watch on TikTok <https://www.tiktok.com/@michaelcarychao>

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## An archive of a changing medium

My Instagram and TikTok archive records hundreds of experiments made as successive generations of image and animation tools became available. Since 2022, I have explored those changing possibilities through finished pieces, production experiments, and collaborations.

[Explore the tool timeline](/ai-timeline/): dated experiments and technical notes from the archive.

## Images into stories

The practice spans Midjourney, ComfyUI, Runway, and other image and animation tools. My interest is in how an image becomes a scene, how a character carries across shots, and how movement communicates an idea.

## A place to start

Nine ways into the archive. Choose a genre and follow a thread.

- **Advertising:** [Bzzt](https://www.instagram.com/michaelcarychao/reel/DbwFvxvB4mU/)
- **Fantasy:** [Camelot](https://www.instagram.com/michaelcarychao/reel/DNbcQexyG6i/)
- **Science fiction:** [Vator Racer](https://www.instagram.com/michaelcarychao/reel/DBj0pkkuYiz/)
- **Nature worlds:** [Forest Walker](https://www.instagram.com/michaelcarychao/reel/DAHVVriSBPI/)
- **Surrealism:** [Elevator Doors of Perception](https://www.instagram.com/michaelcarychao/reel/DNLtUr_pIj5/)
- **Music video:** [And You’ll Love Again](https://www.instagram.com/michaelcarychao/reel/C_0vgzQv4Ag/)
- **Remix:** [Soundlash](https://www.instagram.com/michaelcarychao/reel/C_1C_s5Sje2/)
- **Animation studies:** [Traditional animation → video-to-video](https://www.instagram.com/michaelcarychao/reel/C__g7msyAUO/)
- **Future living:** [Space Glamper 2125](https://www.instagram.com/michaelcarychao/reel/DM-o3RBJwLN/)

## Collaboration

I created the nature-world animation for *Alternate Worlds*, a [Karen X. Cheng](https://www.karenx.com/) collaboration that received over one million combined views on her Instagram and TikTok.

I’ve also made [AI animation for The Handpan Man’s music](https://www.instagram.com/ethereal.in.e/reel/Co5i8J9g8ug/). I’m a member of the [Runway Creative Partners Program](https://runwayml.com/creative-partners-program/).

## Follow the work

Selected films are on [Runway Diffuse](https://diffuse.runway.com/michaelcarychao). The longer archive lives on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/michaelcarychao/) and [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@michaelcarychao). [DreamLounge](/work/dream-lounge/) brings animation together with music and story worlds in a product I designed and built.

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Canonical: https://michaelcarychao.com/work/ai-animation/ · All projects: https://michaelcarychao.com/llms.txt